A letter to President Putin

I write these lines to you on board the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise, as we leave the Russian economic zone waters north of the Kola Peninsula. You may be aware that for the last 5 days people from our ship were engaging in a peaceful protest against the planned start up of drilling for oil on the Russian Arctic shelf by Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform. I want to personally assure you that these protests were in no way directed against the interests of Russia, of people working on the platform, or even against the company of Gazprom. These protests are part of a global campaign that we have been carrying out for a number of years, protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean, from Greenland to Alaska.

Mr. President. It is my deeply held conviction that oil production in the Arctic is counter to the environmental and economic security of Russia. Two weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting with your minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Mr Donskoy. I presented him the findings of the group of respected Russian scientists, who concluded that oil production even on a comparatively near- shore platform such as Prirazlomnaya, carries a high risk of severe contamination of the fragile Arctic marine and coastal environment, while the ability to clean up such a spill is extremely low, due to the climactic and geographic conditions of the region.

Mr. President, I would like to emphasize again, that this is not unique to Russia. Similar analyses have yielded similar results for oil production on the Greenlandic and US Arctic shelves.

The Minister also received from us a report presented earlier this year which analyses the economic feasibility of oil production on the Arctic shelf. It is clear that the production costs are so high as to make the venture unprofitable. Indeed, instead of contributing positively to the Russian economy, it is more likely to become a drain on Federal, and perhaps regional budgets.

Ironically, we are just now passing close to the Shtokman gas field – a project which has now hit what seems to be a final obstacle and is in the process of dissolution, testifying its economic unfeasibility.

Mr. President I want to be very clear, we are not calling for stopping the use of petroleum products today. However it is clear that global oil production will not be able to be maintained much longer at the current level. We will be forced to develop and implement alternative, sustainable sources of energy. Russia possesses an immense wealth of such sources – from wind and solar to biomass and geothermal, as well as a huge potential for energy conservation which can provide cheaper and quicker energy equivalents than it planned to obtain in the Arctic offshore – Russia is capable to become the LEADING country in the world for developing clean energy for the future.

Mr. President, I am deeply concerned that the decision to develop oil fields on the Arctic shelf risks devastating the environment, while closing the channels of investment towards renewable energy sources. I completely support the sentiment you expressed at the congress of the All-Russian public organization “Business Russia” when you said: "It is obvious for us that the ambitious goals that we set for ourselves can only be achieved within the framework of a new model of economic growth, whose driver will be not the resource complex, but a powerful high technology-based business…”

Opening extremely expensive oil fields in Arctic offshore doesn’t help to stop the dependence of Russian national budget on oil and gas and on volatile oil and gas prices on the international market.

Mr. President, one other aspect needs to be mentioned. The climate crisis that the scientific community has been warning about for years is upon us. The data released 3 days ago by scientists from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) clearly shows that the extent of the Arctic ice cover is at its all-time minimum – frightening proof of the fact that the geophysical profile of our planet is undergoing rapid and violent changes, which threaten all of our futures, and indeed are already causing humanitarian catastrophes, both in my homeland, where droughts are devastating the African continent, as well as in yours, Mr. President, where we witnessed widespread forest fires two years ago. I am sure you agree with me, Mr. President, that it is not fair, that people of the developing world who have contributed least to carbon emissions are the ones that are already paying the first and most brutal impacts of climate change.

Part of the mission of Greenpeace is to bring to the public eye the destruction that our planet is suffering. Our ship will now proceed to the edge of the Arctic ice north of the Norwegian coast where together with representatives of the scientific community and representatives of the global public we will document and bear witness to the reality of the disappearing of the Earth’s ice shield.

Mr. President, I am reminded of your words in the interview to a Canadian newspaper in 2000. You said “I’ve always admired people who devote their lives to environmental problems, I’ve watched with astonishment as a group of people on a little boat oppose a military or industrial ship. I must say it inspires only sympathy.” Mr. President, I hope that you understand that our protest at Prirazlomnaya was done with the spirit of taking personal action that you say you admire. In the same spirit I would like to extend an invitation to you. I would be honored if you joined us on board the Arctic Sunrise in the upcoming trip to the retreating edge of the Arctic ice, so you could see for yourself the beauty of this remarkable region, the risk that it is exposed to, and hopefully be inspired to use your position to protect it against destruction.

We need global leadership to ensure that the Arctic is declared a global sanctuary and I appeal to you to step forward to provide it.

@listenin: what is meant by 'Alpha competitions'? Do you mean competitions to become Alpha male, company, nation? If so, then no. Not by any m...

@listenin: what is meant by 'Alpha competitions'? Do you mean competitions to become Alpha male, company, nation? If so, then no. Not by any means at all.
Why? I'm afraid I don't understand your point.

I'll reiterate the comment I made in the last post:
Can I suggest here that contributors ignore comments that have no real place here? I'...

I'll reiterate the comment I made in the last post:
Can I suggest here that contributors ignore comments that have no real place here? I'm referring in particular to individuals such as Green saviour who persistently saturates the comments section of almost every article published here - with a specific focus on pieces contributed by Kumi - with statements that have absolutely no relevance what so ever.

He is not prevented from making comments of course, but let him shout into the wilderness and pay no attention to him. As the old saying goes, ignore them and they might just go away.

PS: @ Abigor and listenin - what did Greenpeace expect to achieve in Russia in the first place? What are Arctic Sunrise and Esperanza doing in the Arctic now for 2 or three month?
Are they trying to save Tuuts? What is Greenpeace doing in the USA? I am still waiting for someone answering me this question, like others.

Greenpeace got some media-attention for the first action, as we noticed articles usually where based on the fact that DOCTOR Naidoo was hanging on the...

Greenpeace got some media-attention for the first action, as we noticed articles usually where based on the fact that DOCTOR Naidoo was hanging on the rigg - like it would create some interest when the CEO from VW or Ford could suddenly be found working at the production-lane...

Lets not forget, it is Greenpeace's main goal to creat interest and awareness.

The second action of DOCTOR Naidoo hardly made it in any media - because? It was not good, no creativity, no good pictures...just loosing another inflatable.

QUESTION: Greenpeace seemed to have burned all their powder...what should they stay for?

AS will disappear somewhere in Norway now, like the Greenpeace-ships usually disapear in some port for the most time of a year...

...and DOCTOR Naidoo will fly to Esperanza/Alaska and hope Shell will start to drill...

Probably they will do the same stuff again - hoping for Media to jump on: 'DOCTOR Naidoo, CEO of Greenpeace International and Anti-Apartheid-Activist from South Africa is protesting against Arctic Destruction by Shell...'

They have to do it, they need people to forget DOCTOR Naidoo just invited a person most people move away from at the moment to join him on AS to have a look at the beautiful Arctic.

They have an extremly expensive Submarine on board of Esperanza, so lets hope they have a plan what to use it for...

If Shell is starting to dill CEO is needed in Alaska - because Greenpeace is getting hardly any attention for what they call action...and they do not want to notice that continous testimonies of uncreativity damage Greenpeace more and more...

As someone said: there seems to be no (ecological) captain on board at the moment...

@GREEN Saviour: I have no idea what Greenpeace is doing in the US. They're definitely not trying to stop the Keystone XL pipeline...
@Barry:...

@GREEN Saviour: I have no idea what Greenpeace is doing in the US. They're definitely not trying to stop the Keystone XL pipeline...
@Barry: people will either listen to GREEN Saviour or ignore him. It's up to them. I listen to him because, mostly, he's right and/or has a point. What do you contribute? Nothing. Not that I need to defend GREEN Saviour...he can do it himself perfectly well.

I wonder what Greenpeace plans next...things seem to have dried up a bit here...

Just to say great post Kumi, ...thanks very much. I'm sorry you have to be dogged by these cruel, crude, and overly ambitious people. Things are...

Just to say great post Kumi, ...thanks very much. I'm sorry you have to be dogged by these cruel, crude, and overly ambitious people. Things are tough enough without their help. Do they actually think they're making friends here? Oh I know, they'll just try to insult me again here, ...it doesn't matter, crude people do crude things, ...obviously. Rock on Kumi, Eoin, Andrew, Barry, and Greenpeace, ...the real warriors of the rainbow.

Hey, Grateful Child, you're back! GREEN Saviour and I were missing you.
I'm sure all the people who posted messages of support to Dr. Na...

Hey, Grateful Child, you're back! GREEN Saviour and I were missing you.
I'm sure all the people who posted messages of support to Dr. Naidoo are extremely flattered to be called cruel, crude and overly ambitious. Because, you can't really be talking about GREEN Saviour and I, can you?
Barry is not a rainbow warrior - he's a Lainbow Wallior and also a foul mouth. ;->

'...Oh I know, they'll just try to insult me again here, ...it doesn't matter, crude people do c...

Hey Grateful Child...

'...Oh I know, they'll just try to insult me again here, ...it doesn't matter, crude people do crude things...'

who is doing crude things to you? Tell me, I will take care of it!

Welcome back...

:)

Sun Wu

PS: I have an article for you...actually I am waiting for our head of Lainbow waLLior to post his next blog...but maybe this is a good opportunity with having a real Rainbow Warrior from the USA being involved.

Obama, do you know this guy?

Tomorrow, or day after, promised! I do not work on weekends...activists need time off once a while aswell!